Society 5 min read By Arthur Ellington
Fortune names 10 influential women shaping Asia in 2026
Fortune's 2026 list of influential women in Asia spans badminton, fine dining, tennis, conservation, spaceflight, film, AI policy and philanthropy, highlighting leaders whose influence extends well beyond the boardroom.
Fortune has published its 2026 list of ten influential women to watch in Asia, a selection that reaches across sport, culture, science and public life. The list reflects a widening definition of power in the region, where women are reaching the top of their fields and drawing attention far beyond them.
In sport, South Korean badminton player An Se-young, 24, is described as the defining competitor in the women's game. Already an Olympic champion and world No. 1 in singles, she won her second world championship in August and then took gold at the Asian Games, becoming the first woman to win back-to-back singles titles at the event. She has lost just once in 57 matches this year.
Philippine tennis player Alex Eala also features after a breakthrough year. She became the first Filipino to win a WTA Tour title, in Washington, D.C., broke into the world's top 20 and reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, the best showing by a Filipino player at the tournament. Her results have shifted expectations for tennis in the Philippines.
In food, South Korean chef and culinary educator Cho Eun-hee is working to move Korean cuisine from pop-culture trend to global fine dining. A holder of Korea's Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 38 certification for Joseon royal court cuisine, she leads the kitchen at Seoul's Michelin-starred Onjium. In 2026 she was named Asia's Best Female Chef, while Onjium ranked No. 14 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants.
Conservationist Farwiza Farhan of Indonesia is recognised for her long campaign to protect Sumatra's Leuser Ecosystem, described as perhaps the last place on Earth where elephants, tigers, rhinos and orangutans still coexist in the wild. Through the grassroots organisation HAkA, she has combined conservation with advocacy for local communities. In 2026 she received the Whitley Gold Award, one of conservation's most prestigious honours.
Hong Kong's Lai Ka-ying made history in May as the first person from Hong Kong to travel to space, joining China's Shenzhou-23 mission to the Tiangong space station. A former Hong Kong Police superintendent with a Ph.D. in computer forensics, she was selected for China's astronaut programme in 2024. She is China's first female payload specialist and the country's fourth woman in space.
In film, Japanese actress and model Tao Okamoto, known professionally as TAO, became the first Japanese woman to win Cannes' Best Actress award in May. She shared the prize with Virginie Efira for their performances in Ryusuke Hamaguchi's All of a Sudden, a milestone in a career spanning fashion, Hollywood and Japanese cinema.
Taiwanese star Shu Qi is building a second career behind the camera. Her directorial debut, Girl, competed for the Golden Lion at Venice in 2025 before earning her Best Director at the Busan International Film Festival. This year the film won Best Film at the Asian Film Festival in Rome, while Shu Qi was named Best New Director at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Girl is now in contention at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards, where she is nominated for another Best New Director prize.
Malaysia has appointed Aireen Omar, former chief executive of AirAsia, as the inaugural chair of AI Malaysia, the country's lead AI agency. Appointed in September, she is charged with coordinating the National AI Action Plan 2026–2030 as Malaysia positions itself as a node in the global AI supply chain, with growing data-centre and semiconductor sectors. After two decades helping build AirAsia and its parent Capital A, she now has a hand in how Malaysia develops, governs and adopts AI.
In Singapore, philanthropist Chloe Tong has become a visible advocate for children and young people. The list also includes figures from across the region whose work spans public life, science and culture, underlining Fortune's argument that influence in Asia is no longer confined to the C-suite.
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